Morton Gould Young Composer Awards Guidelines

The specific details and requirements of The ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (the “Award”) are set forth below. Participation in the Award is subject to The ASCAP Foundation Official Awards Rules and Regulations (the “Rules”). To the extent not specifically defined below, all capitalized terms have the meaning set forth in the Rules.

About the Award

The Award honors the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and former ASCAP Foundation President Morton Gould’s lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. Open to composers of original, classical concert music, the Award encourages developing music creators during the earliest stages of their careers.

Eligibility Requirements

The Award is open to young composers: (1) who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or enrolled students with valid student visas for the U.S. and (2) who have not reached their 30th birthday by January 1, 2017.

If a musical work or composition submitted as part of the “Submission” (specified below) is co-written, all co-writers shall be considered Entrants and must consent to participation in the Award and satisfy these eligibility criteria, together with all other requirements set forth in the Rules. Works which are set to a text protected by copyright must include permission of the author of the text (or the author's representative), as described below.

Previous recipients of any Foundation award may only include in his or her Submission a work that was written after the work that was the subject of such previous award.

The following eligibility requirements apply to works submitted in accordance with the below “Submission” guidelines: works that have previously earned awards or prizes in major national or international competitions are ineligible.

Award Period

Begins on 9:00 AM PDT on December 2, 2016, and ends at 11:59 PM PDT on February 2, 2017. Hard copy materials must be postmarked no later than February 2, 2017.

Submission Requirements

To enter the Award, eligible Entrants must: (1) complete and electronically submit the Online Application provided below, which is available only during the Award Period and (2) submit the following materials in hard copy to Foundation (a) a bound score (copy, not original manuscript), of ONE published or unpublished original concert work (no arrangements) (referred to herein as the “Score”); and (b) a separate letter-sized envelope containing a print-out of the Online Application together with a composer biography and list of works (the hard copy materials may optionally include a CD containing an electronic realization or recording of the work if the Online Application did not provide a URL from which such realization or recording may be streamed) (collectively sub-sections (1) and (2)(a)/(b) referred to as the “Submission”).

All Submission materials must bear the Entrant’s name together with all co-writer(s) of the work or composition. Any CD must separately be marked with the name of the Entrant (including all co-writer(s)), the title of the work, and the names of the performers. When submitting recordings of multi-movements works, each movement must be on a separate track and marked clearly in the score and CD.

Note: For vocal compositions setting text, provide evidence that the text is either in the public domain, or if still protected, used with written permission from the author or author’s representative (publisher or estate). For setting a translation of text, provide evidence that the translation is either in the public domain, or used with written permission from the translator or translator’s representative (publisher or estate).

Return of hard copy materials: If you wish the Submission materials returned to you, the Submission must be accompanied by a self-addressed envelope with an official postage meter stamp from the U.S. Post Office with sufficient postage. Regular postage stamps will not be accepted.

Judging Procedure & Criteria

Each eligible Submission will be judged by a panel of ASCAP composer members (the “Panel”) based on the significance and overall artistry and compositional elements of the musical work or composition. The Panel is selected by the Foundation in the Foundation’s sole discretion. Award-recipient selection resides within the sole discretion of the Panel.

Prize and Award Ceremony

In accordance with the Judging Procedure and Criteria above, eligible Entrants will be selected as the Award Recipients and will receive a monetary Prize (the number of Award Recipients and the monetary distribution of the Prize resides within the discretion of the Panel), including the Leo Kaplan Award, in memory of the distinguished attorney who served as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor awarded to the top award winner; the Charlotte V. Bergen Scholarship for a composer 18 years of age or younger; and a grant from The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund. The total value of the Prize to be shared among the Award Recipients shall be determined in the Foundation’s sole discretion.

The Award may be presented at an award celebration at a time and location during each applicable year to be determined by the Foundation (the “Award Celebration”) in the Foundation’s sole discretion.

Notification Date of Award Recipients

May 1, 2017

Post-Award Reports

As required by Federal law, a year after receipt of the Award, each Award Recipient will be required to report to the Foundation in writing on the use of the funds, progress made to improve skills, and accomplishments during the year of the Award.